Meaning of 好久
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (coll.) a long time
How to use 好久
好久 is a casual way to say "a long time," often in 好久不见 or after a verb with 了. Example: 我等了你好久。(Wǒ děng le nǐ hǎojiǔ.) I waited for you for a long time.
好 (hǎo) here works like "very," and 久 (jiǔ) means "long in time." So 好久 is literally "very long," a long time.
Common mistake: Learners often write 久 (jiǔ) like 欠 (qiàn) or confuse it with 九 (jiǔ, nine), which has the same sound. Also, both syllables are third tone, so 好 shifts to second tone in speech: háojiǔ.
好久 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
好 hǎo · good · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
久 jiǔ · long · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 好久.
| 最好 | zuìhǎo | best; had better ...; it would be best to ... |
| 好吃 | hǎochī | tasty; delicious |
| 好看 | hǎokàn | good-looking; nice-looking; (of a movie, book, TV show etc) good |
| 好听 | hǎotīng | pleasant to hear |
| 爱好 | àihào | to like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby |
| 好玩儿 | hǎowánr | erhua variant of 好玩[hao3 wan2] |
| 好像 | hǎoxiàng | as if; to seem like |
| 不好意思 | bù hǎoyìsi | to feel embarrassed; to find it embarrassing |
| 多久 | duōjiǔ | (of time) how long?; (not) a long time |
| 好多 | hǎoduō | many; quite a lot |
| 好人 | hǎorén | good person; healthy person |
| 正好 | zhènghǎo | just (in time); just right |
Questions about 好久
What does 好久 mean?
好久 (hǎojiǔ) means "(coll.) a long time" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 好久?
好久 is made of 2 characters: 好 (6 strokes), 久 (3 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 好久 an HSK word?
Yes. 好久 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What does 好久不见 mean and when do I use it?
好久不见 (hǎojiǔ bú jiàn) means "long time no see." Use it when you meet a friend or acquaintance you have not seen for a while. It is friendly and informal.
Where does 好久 go in a sentence?
Put it after the verb to say how long an action lasted, as in 我学了好久 (I studied for a long time). To say something has not happened for a long time, put it before the negative verb, as in 好久没吃 (haven't eaten it in ages).